By Sanu V George

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 9 (IANS): With Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's home town, Kannur, to be the venue for the 23rd Party Congress next year, it clearly shows the sway he has over the party, which could well spell trouble for General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, whose third term hangs in the balance.

Yechury is in his second term and according to the party Constitution, he can get one more term, but as is known to all both Vijayan and Yechury at times are not on the same page when it comes to issues and it's here that Vijayan's absolute control of the party, by virtue of winning the Assembly polls in Kerala, despite a few scams and other issues, could well affect Yechury's third term.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said as things stand now, Vijayan's unquestionable grip over the party is going to be his forte and with the Party Congress to be held in his home turf, it could well be another advantage for him to further consolidate the party.

"Then comes the issue -- whether Yechury needs to continue, and in all likelihood, Vijayan would like to have one of his handpicked persons to the top post and veteran leader M.A. Baby, who has had terms in the Upper House and also a former State Minister, is in his mind. It remains to be seen, will Vijayan be able to get away from any opposition which might come from the West Bengal wing of the party.

"But, Vijayan who is a master in tactical moves, could give Yechury another term, to see that there is no animosity, which could well be the clincher for Vijayan to keep Yechury under his leash," said the critic, who did not wished to be identified.

Incidentally with Kannur hosting the mega event, it could well be Vijayan's show. He for sure would like the event to go without any unnecessary discussions in the media and would like to stamp his authority that he is not just the last word in Kerala but nationally also, and hence Yechury could well have his third and final term.

Moreover, with a big team of his aides like State Minister for Local Self Government M.V. Govindan, former Minister's E.P. Jayarajan, K.K. Shailaja, P.K. Sreemathy -- all members of the present central committee of the party besides politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, all hailing from Kannur, Vijayan will ensure that there is not going to be any sort of hiccups, which could well be flared up by media.

The last time this mega event was held in Kerala was at Kozhikode in 2012 when Vijayan was the state party secretary and his tirades with then Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was at its peak and yet he managed to keep Achuthanandan quiet.

So irrespective of which position Vijayan holds, when he runs the show, he is the final word in the party and one will have to wait to find out which way Yechury will be going.